


Tylenol and Tequila

by chantalis



Series: Everyone's Dating Each Other And That Went About As Well As You'd Expect [1]
Category: Chicago Fire, Chicago Med, Chicago PD (TV)
Genre: F/M, Stellaride, brettsey, minor upstead
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-28
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:28:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27241939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chantalis/pseuds/chantalis
Summary: Chief Boden dealing with everyone at 51 dating each other or bringing their love life to work, he needs something strong to deal with the headache those lovesick fools give him.
Relationships: Christopher Herrmann/Cindy Herrmann, Randy ''Mouch'' McHolland/Trudy Platt, Stella Kidd/Kelly Severide, Sylvie Brett/Matthew Casey, Wallace Boden/Donna Robbins-Boden
Series: Everyone's Dating Each Other And That Went About As Well As You'd Expect [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2023022
Comments: 11
Kudos: 59





	1. 1

“Here, this is a thank you for helping me find a house.” 

“Really Matt, it’s not a big deal, that’s what friends are for!” Everyone in Molly’s le out a collective angry sigh. The two ‘blonde dumbo’s’ as Stella dubbed them, had done nothing but tiptoe around each other for a year. It was understandable at first, Gabby had been Matt’s wife and Sylvie’s best friend. It was complicated and they always overthought things in the best of situations. But now, everyone was fucking sick of it.

Matt and Sylvie sat together at a table making soft eyes filled with love and caution at each other. The soft lighting was tugging at Matt’s heartstrings, his hand itching to reach out and cup Sylvie's cheek. His hand actually twitched a couple times. Something that did not go unnoticed by his fellow firefighters.

“Would they just get a move on already?!” Stella hissed into Kelly’s ear. “Tell me about it. I have been hounding Casey to just ask her out already and he’s just... Terrified.”

“What?”

“Yeah, I was ragging into him a couple months ago just after she and Foster had had that standoff with the red pickup truck. When he’d stepped out of 81 he looked shaken. So I started joking around with him, about his girl holding her ground, stuff like that. And he just whirled around and told me to shut up. I managed to corral him into his office before he could run off but... He was so pale. I didn’t have to hound him much to talk to me. When he saw the red truck almost crash into ambulance 61 all that he could think about was Brett. He told me that he had never felt that afraid in his life. He said that there was a flash, in his mind, that the red truck head rammed them head-on. That Brett was killed on impact. He said that it all flashed in his mind so quickly, that it was only a second, but one second he was watching that red truck zoom towards them, the next he saw himself prying Brett’s lifeless body from the wreckage of 61, and then he was back to seeing that red truck stop just as we pulled up, missing 61.”

“Damn.”

“Yeah, I know. I didn’t know how to react. Matt just about collapsed on his bunk. In all the things that Matt and I have survived together, I have never seen him cry. Never. And it was like there was a bucket of water behind each eye, just pouring a river of tears down both sides of his face. He was trembling and just completely silent. He wasn’t that bad after Dawson up and left him. But just the thought of Brett dying brought him to his knees.”

“Wow.” All Kelly could do was nod and watch the love of his life and their friends absorb the news. Pensive silence had cocooned around the small group at the bar. Natalie Manning looked over at Sylvie, the bright woman who had become a dear friend to her. “Maybe,” she drew out, “we should set both of them up on blind dates, and when they get there, find that they have been set up with each other?”

“Damn Manning, that is sneaky.”

“And not my best idea. It might take me awhile, but I honestly think they’ll burst and come together in an explosion with much better results than if they were set up.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, trust Nat, she’s good at calling this sort of thing.” Kim chimed in, trying to reassure Joe’s skepticism. “It’s true,” Connor cut in, “she is the entire reason we don’t place bets on the outcomes of relationships at MED. She ALWAYS wins. Every fucking time.”

“Connor, it’s been three years, stop being salty that I won five hundred bucks off you.” There was a chorus of ‘ohhhh’ and ‘burned’ from the group that not only had Connor ducking his head and blushing, but had shattered the soft moment that had trapped Sylvie and Matt in their very own bubble. Matt scratched the back of his head and Sylvie ducked out to go to the washroom. Kelly Severide sighed before grabbing two beers and making his way over to his best friend.

————————————————————————————-

It had been a week since the meet up at the bar. While Matt and Sylvie were still clueless they were definitely getting closer to opening up about their feelings to each other. The longing glances, sweet smiles, and lingering touches were still being noticed by literally everyone at 51, bu no one was more annoyed than Chief Boden. He had known Matt Casey for most of his firefighting career, had watched the poor soul be ripped up and torched and dissected more times than he would care to remember. While Sylvie Brett had forged her own path littered with her own demons, she was a literal ray of sunshine (Boden was 97% sure that she sang and had small woodland creatures help her get ready in the morning). She and Matthew Casey had created a strong bond out of care and caution and mutual admiration. In the Chief’s eyes, there were no other people who deserved each other more (not counting those already together of course).

Despite what might b commonly believed, Casey rarely got angry, irritated, or antsy. And when he did there was always a good reason. So when Boden finished with a conference call and noticed hi captain pacing by the command desk overlooking the engine bay, he knew that something was wrong. And that it most likely had to do with a certain Disney princess. “Casey. Something wrong?” His captain’s head snapped towards him and he sighed. Taking a breath and running his hand down his tense face under the pensive eyes of his Chief. “Brett and Foster got called out two hours and forty-six minutes ago. They still aren’t back yet. They dropped their patient off at med an hour and a half ago. I... I’m worried. They haven’t reported anything to main either... And I just feel like something is very, very wrong.” Boden snapped his lips together before holding his radio up to his lips. “Main, this is Batallion Chief 25 of firehouse 51, can we please get an update on our ambo 61?” There was a crackle before main responded, causing Casey to move incredibly close to Boden, and if the older man hadn’t seen how distraught his captain was he would’ve told him to back off. “Main to Batallion Chief 25, there has been no update from ambo 61 for an hour and a half, when they brought a juvenile to Gaffney medical. Have they not returned to or made contact with firehouse 51 yet?”

“No to both of those.”

“One moment, I will attempt to contact ambulance 61.” Matt already looked like he was going to pass out, catching the attention of his two lieutenants. “Is everything okay?”

“No.”

“Casey you look like you’re going to faint, maybe you should sit down?”

“Good idea Hermann, here.” Severide wheeled over the chair from the desk to at least lessen the distance between Casey and the ground. “Alright, so what’s going on?”

“Ambo 61 has been gone for three hours, and there has been no contact from them for almost two. Main is attempting to contact them again now.”

“Main to firehouse 51.”

“Firehouse 51 here.”

“There was no response from ambulance 61, an APB has been issued.” Matt growled as he stood up, storming through the common areas ad hallways until he got to his office and ferociously slammed the door. The three men along with their ‘subordinates’ (friends and family was more accurate) winced at the sound. “ALRIGHT! Squad three get in the truck we’re gonna go take a look for our missing ambo and paramedics.”

“ENGINE! You guys too, come on. Our girls are missing, we can’t just sit around.” Truck 81, however, had to stay at quarters since their leader was currently pacing around his office and swearing up a storm.

————————————————————————————

All of 51’s trucks pulled up to the scene in record time. Matt burst through the door of truck 81, sprinting to the yellow line he’d been praying he wouldn’t need to see today. “VOIGHT! VOIGHT! Where’s Brett? What happened? Is Foster okay too?” He was out of breath and clearly panicking. “Captain, take a breath-“

“Where is- Foster? Are you okay? Where’s Brett? What happened?” Matt dove under the police tape and bulldozed through all the cops who ride to stop him. “Foster?” She had a gash on her left arm, and a small first degree burn on the side of her face. “They took her. They took Sylvie.”

“Who? How? Is-“

“Slow down there captain,” Voight’s gravelly voice made him jump but less so than when he wrapped his arms around Casey’s shoulders to keep him in place before he continued, “let her tell the story on her time.” Casey would have bitten his head off, if his chief hadn’t shown up. “Sergeant Voight is right, give Foster a chance to breathe.”

“Right. I am sorry Foster, I shouldn’t have jumped down your throat.”

“It’s okay, Matt. Love makes us all do crazy things.” All Casey could do was nod mutely. He had just figured out that he was falling in love with Sylvie, and the extent his feelings went for her. He really didn’t think he could take testing them.

“Brett was driving us back to 51 when the guy in front of us break checked us. Before we could do anything three other cars boxed us in. One behind, one on each side. A bunch of guys stepped out wearing those creepy ghoul Halloween masks and guns. Big ones. Two of them shattered the side windows and told us to get out if we want to live. We were both trying to unbuckle, but the driver’s buckle has been sticking lately. They just kept yelling and I was trying to help her but I guess they thought I was trying something. The guy by my window shot Brett. In the shoulder. The muzzle was right beside my face.” Her voice was cracking and she was tearing up, “That’s how I got the burn on my face. Muzzle flash. The started yelling in a language I didn’t understand, one grabbed me and threw me out of the ambo. The other pushed Sylvie into the back using the window in the wall between the cab and the back of the ambo. Two got in, the others got in their cars and all five drove off. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorr-“

“You have nothing to be sorry for Foster.” Voight’s gravelly voice broke the silence and gestured for the paramedics to take Foster to med. “Atwater, Rojas, go with Foster and see if you can get any more specifics we can go off of. Stay until her protective detail gets there.”

“Yes, Sargent.”

Those were the last two words that Matt heard before his emotions and the turmoil of the past four hours, of his beloved Sylvie being in danger, caught up with him. His breathing turned shallow, his body began to tremble, his face had lost all its colour, but before either the chief or the Sargent could steady him, his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he slumped on the concrete like a rag doll.

————————————————————————————

When Matt came to he was in a hospital bed and he was not happy about it. His lieutenants and nurse tried to push him back into bed, but he was not having it. “Any word on Sylvie? Has she been found yet?” Severide took a deep breath as everyone in the room looked to him to update Matt, seeing as he’s Matt’s best friend. “Sit down first.”

“Kelly-“

“I’m not telling you anything until you at least sit down. Lying down would be more preferable.”

“Kelly please-“

“It’s not good news. So sit down and shut up.” Matt slowly sat back down on the hospital bed and watched Kelly with fear-filled eyes.

“Brett is still missing. Intelligence is hunting down a crew that’s been stealing ambulances, clearing out everything inside and then torching them. I the paramedics get out quick enough, they’re left alone. If not... If the medics are still in the ambo when they need to bolt, they... They kill them. There’s been three deaths so far.”

“Oh god. Sylvie.” The others in the room had been stunned into silence. Watching their captain, the man they’d viewed as a rock, cry. His face was becoming blotchy, tears quickly making their way down his face and neck to soak his shirt, his lips trembling and quivering as he struggled to breathe. “Not Sylvie. No...”

“There, uh, there’s one more thing. One of the dead paramedics was female and before they killed her...”

“What?”

“...”

“WHAT KELLY?!”

“They brutally raped her. It was so bad that the coroner thought that was the cause of death and that the bullet between her eyes was only a precaution.” And suddenly Matt sounded like a wounded wolf. Howling and growling through his tears. His body was convulsing, shaking, perfectly reflecting the pain he was feeling in his heart. The Chief and lieutenants stood silently, knowing that they couldn’t say or do anything to comfort him. Then suddenly it was like a switch flipped in him. He bolted up, tears on his face dry as he looked completely livid for the first time in a while, completely annihilated the solemness in the room. “Where’s intelligence now?”

“Matt I really don’t-“

“Right here.” Halstead and Upton (or Upstead according to Sylvie) stood in the doorway. “We came to check on you-“

“Where’re you at with your investigation?” Matt stood up and removed the IV from his arm before anyone could stop him.

“We found Sylvie.” The air had been completely sucked out of the room, it had such an effect on Casey that he needed to brace himself on a seated Severide. “She’s alive. She’s in the ED-“ Matt ran from the room before Upton could finish her sentence, informing all of them that the bullet only grazed Sylvie’s shoulder, that once the cars started to split up to avoid detection she opened the back doors and jumped out, that her face had a few scratches, and a couple of casts and that she was fine and it was the best outcome they could have possibly hoped for. So she told the rest of Brett’s 51 family, while Jay stepped out to call Will. There were doctors, nurses, patients, and security guards who kept telling him not to run, to sow down. He didn’t listen to a single one of them. Forgoing the elevator he practically flew down the four flights of stairs to the floor with the ED. Halstead must have called Halstead because the moment the captain’s panicked form exploded into the ED the redhead didn’t even look up, just voiced “She’s in treatment room three” and pointed at the door.

———————————————————————————————

She looked so small, smaller than usual anyway. She was awake, her usually bright face was dull and covered in scratches. There was a light blue cast on her right arm and her left leg was securely held in a gray air cast. Her shoulders had some gauze taped on the top of her shoulder, and her loopy smile drilling an immense amount of relief into his soul. “Sylvie.” His hoarse voice sounded foreign, even to him. But it made Sylvie smile so wide it reached her eyes. “Matt. Hug me. Please-“ She didn’t finish before his long arms gingerly wrapped around her form. “I have never been more afraid in my entire life. Sylvie, I- I... I am so happy to be holding you.”

“Please don’t let go.”

“Never.”


	2. 2

The pounding headache that was encompassing Boden’s entire skull had been unbearable since it started, and the cause had been unbearable long before that. Sylvie had been keeping her head down and avoiding Matt ever since Gabby’s last visit, resulting in Matt staring longingly after her like a kicked puppy. Everyone noticed it. And Chief Wallace Boden was motherfucking done. He gathered all his resolve and stood up from his office, ready to search for the two of them when the bells went off.

“Fucking hell.”

“Chief! I’ve never heard you swear before!”

“Can it Cruz, let’s go.”

——————————————————————————————-

When everyone arrived at the scene Boden saw Casey hop out, survey the scene, and then look for Sylvie. It all happened in a one second period, but Boden was concerned now. He couldn’t let this affect his captain, it may only have been a few milliseconds but someday those milliseconds could be part of the final countdown. Casey’s orders were being followed promptly and as truck made their way into the house while squad handled the car that had crashed into said house, ambo 61 prepared themselves for a number of patients and requested additional ambulances. Boden caught the worry and fear in Brett’s eyes as she watched Casey enter the visibly unstable house. Her lip was between her teeth as she clutched the empty gurney surrounded by the ambo’s various medical kits with one hand and clutched her stethoscope in the other.

“Mouch and Gallo are coming out chief, they’ve each got a victim. Unconscious but breathing with a pulse.”

“Alright Casey, what floor are you on?”

“Second, I’m with Kidd, we’ve only got one more room to check and we’ll be out.”

“What about the basement?”

“Capp and Cruz checked it out quick but there’s only laundry stuff, some tools, and half of the outside of their house down there.”

“Alright. Severide? What’s your status with the car?”

“We got the engine off and we’re using the jaws to open the doors. There’s two passengers, one drunk male in his 20’s, and one baby in the backseat.”

“Come again?”

“There is a baby in the backseat of the car. Crying but alert, they appear uninjured.”

“The first ambo took the homeowners, chief, we’re waiting on the driver.”

“Copy that Brett.”

“Alright Chief, ambo 27 grabbed the driver, can Brett and Foster come take a look at the baby?”

———————————————

When the sound of ambo 61 driving into the garage reached the common room they all grimaced when they noticed Casey’s head snap up and angle it so that he could see Brett through the windows. His eyes followed her tired form as she and Foster collapsed on the sofa, Sylvie in Mouch’s spot.

“Brett that’s my-“

“Oh bite me.” Okay, now everyone was watching Brett.

“Sylvie? Emily?” Stella asked apprehensively. “What’s going on?”

“Give us chocolate and the TV remote and no one gets hurt.”

“... Well alright then.”

Casey discreetly made his way over to Gallo and his lieutenants and whispered, “Gallo, keep them supplied with chocolate and water. Hermann, keep the TV and couch available for them, and by that I mean calm down Mouch. Severide, notify Boden and keep an eye on them. I’m gonna call med and find out what the fuck happened.” They all nodded at each other, eyes clearly concerned, especially since it was highly unusual for Sylvie to be snappy.

“Hi Maggie, it’s Matt.”

“Matt! Usually we talk when you come to the ED or at Molly’s. What can I do for you?”

“I would like to follow-up with a call ambo 61 had earlier, they brought in a baby?”

“Oh. Yeah... That, the baby’s hanging on by a thread. At best. Turns out she was born with a heart defect. Mother bolted when she found out and the father decided he couldn’t handle it either.”

“Shit.” Matt immediately knew why this had caused the damage it had. Sylvie’s birth mother had just died while giving birth to a baby girl, this fell far too close to home for her. And Emily probably looked at Sylvie’s depressed face and felt the same way herself. Sylvie just had one of those influential personalities that drew people into her orbit and reflected her aura. “Thanks, Maggie. You are a lifesaver, I owe you a drink.”

“Alright, well I don’t know what that was about but I will take free alcohol any time.”

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Emily had left the couch with an armful of chocolate to go curl up in the bunk room. Night had come and gone and even after several calls Sylvie retained her spot on the couch, by commandeering Mouch’s spot. The older man continued to pout, looking to Casey for assistance when he returned. Casey shook his head with a solemn look in his eye. Subtle nods were exchanged. Understood. Gallo abandoned the ingredients he’d been gathering for pork tenderloin and started getting everything together to make Sylvie’s and Emily’s favourite dinners. Sure, it would’ve been easier to just go along with what he had originally planned to make, but this would cheer up 51’s rather desolate paramedics. Still in Mouch’s spot, Sylvie had curled into herself and just looked so heartbreakingly sad.

Without thinking too much about what he was about to do, Casey sat down beside her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. He didn’t say anything but it appeared he didn’t need to. Sylvie responded immediately, snuggling into his side, too exhausted to keep on crying. They were well aware of all the eyes on them, but they didn’t care. Sylvie was too hurt and Matt was too focused on Sylvie hurting. So they sat there, together, with nothing on the TV in front of them. Listening to Gallo bustling in the background making an Asian stir-fry and Irish stew. The smell surrounded all of the silent members of 51. Encompassing them all in a bubble of warmth and temporary comfort.

Dinner was ready, a grateful Sylvie and Emily sat at the table, excited to eat, when suddenly the bells went off.

Squad three, Truck eighty-one, Engine fifty-one multiple vehicle collision on MacLean Street and 32nd Street

“Alright, let’s go!”

“And don’t eat all the food ladies!” 

“No promises!”

Just another day at firehouse 51. Sadness, grief, joy, and family.


	3. 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stella and Kelly take in Kylie when they find out why she missed that 'Girls On Fire' session.

Stella Kidd has always wanted to be a mother. To experience the joy, fear, love, frustration, cheer that being a parent brings. The only problem? She didn’t want to be the one to actually give birth to them and she didn’t agree with surrogacy. But she had been homeless and in the foster system when she wasn’t living with her addict parents, so she knew that there were lots of kids who just needed someone to love them. This had been a point of contention between her and Grant. Biological kid(d)s are the only ones he would accept. It would end in screaming matches, Grant saying at some point that it would happen whether she liked it or not. That should have been a huge red flag for her, but she’d loved him so she ignored it.

With Kelly though, he understood. He understood that if she got pregnant she would have to take leave from being a firefighter for a while, so long as there weren’t complications with the pregnancy that were severe enough to end her career, and that was something he would never ask or expect her to do. When Stella wanted to have a serious conversation about kids he watched her collapse in relief that he shared her opinions. That he thought it would be better for both of them to foster older kids, pre-teens and teenagers.

Kelly had never liked Grant. Always thought that he was a manipulative piece of shit, and every even remotely serious conversation had been about Grant ignoring Stella’s wants, needs, and choices. If Grant showed his face again it would take an army and at least one dragon to stop him from killing Grant.

The only people they’d told were Boden, cause he’d need to know as their chief, Matt and Sylvie because they’d need someone to talk to about it besides each other and references. They’d all been ecstatic for the couple, Sylvie in particular. She didn’t remember much about her time in foster care, but she remembered enough to know how terrible, nightmarish, and broken it was. 

Kylie was the first kid who popped up in both their minds. Her dad was a neglectful cop who had multiple families and her mom was a heroin addict. Kylie did what she could to remain afloat, to distance herself from who her parents are and what they do, but it was hard. Her dad just showing up and doing whatever the fuck he wanted and leaving ruins in his wake, and her mom was only around a third of the time, almost always on a bender with whoever she was ‘dating’ that week. Kylie had spent most of her childhood living with her grandma after being placed there by social services but was dumped back on her mom after seven months after her grandma passed three months in the system. The four months she spent being tossed between group homes and foster families were not times she advertised or wanted to remember. Girls on Fire had brought the support that she hadn’t had for so long into her life. When she missed a Girls on Fire meeting Stella got worried, it didn’t correlate with her character. 

A call to detective Jay Halstead from Kelly brought out the depressing truth. Her mom had gotten high, signed her out of school, and then dragged her to a scummy abandoned warehouse to help her score some product. Kylie managed to slip away and call 911 for help after the dealer smacked her around for saying ‘no’. But he found her at the end of the call, and he didn’t react well. They’d rushed over to the ED when they found out where she was.

Stella actually started to cry when she saw the state Kylie was in. So frail, monitors beeping, covered in bandages, arm in a sling. Kelly tracked down Natalie to figure out what her condition was, and it wasn’t good. Amelia Wood, a social worker showed up just as she finished explaining everything.

“Hello, I’m Amelia Woods from DCFS, here for Kylie Reyez?”

“Of course, Ms. Woods as I was just explaining to lieutenant Severide, Kylie has a minor concussion five bruised ribs, a shoulder fracture, and we’re waiting on the results from her sexual assault kit.”

“And why would you be explaining it to lieutenant Severide? The only relatives listed in her file are her deceased grandmother, ineligible father detective Mark Reyez, and criminally negligent mother Daphne Adams.”

“My girlfriend Stella Kidd runs a program called Girls on Fire, a fire department outreach program for girls, and Kylie’s signed up for it. When she didn’t show up for the last session she had a really bad feeling and Kylie wasn’t answering her phone so we called some people and found out she was here. We rushed over, Stella’s actually with her now. What, uh, what’s going to happen to Kylie?”

“Well she’s not going to live with either of her parents, and she has no other family, so she’ll go into the system.”

“Group home or foster family?”

“... Group home to start... We’ll try to find a foster for her but that’s unlikely at her age.”

“Stella and I are in the final stages of getting approved as a foster family, would it be possible for Kylie to be placed with us?”

“Who’s the social worker assigned to you?”

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After a week in the ED Kylie was permitted to leave, and go to Severide and Kidd’s apartment. Kylie was ecstatic, Stella and Kelly had made it clear that their apartment was a safe place for Kylie, that all she would have to do was be a teenager. There would be some rules and curfew in place but Stella and Kelly were just focusing on making sure that Kylie had a stable home.

When they got home Stella gingerly showed Kylie her room. It was plain, had been seen Matt moved out the year before, but Sylvie had offered to help Kylie decorate it when she was comfortable. “We can arrange for that shopping trip in a few days, let’s just get you settled in first.”

“Ladies, our deep dish order has been placed and should be here in forty minutes. I think that maybe we should take this time to talk about some rules and stuff. Then we can chow down on pizza.”

Stella chuckled at her boyfriend’s attempt at humour, and Kylie smiled at how they looked at each other. “That sounds like a good idea Kel. You ready Kylie?”

“Yeah, let’s hear it.”

“Okay, so curfew is 10:30 pm, but if there’s something special going on that night just let us know in advance and we can extend it.”

“School is priority, if you want a part-time job or something that’s fine, but school comes first.”

“Look, we don’t want you drinking or having sex-”

Gagging from Kylie interrupted Stella, “yeah, yeah, it’s gross to talk about with your guardians but we get that as a teenager that’s just something you might get into, so if you need condoms or a ride home or something, just let us know or call, we just want you to be safe. We won’t exactly be happy that you’re partying or whatever, but anything’s better than playing keep-up.”

“And if there’s stuff you want to talk about, we’re here. And if you don’t want to talk to us, that’s okay too. As long as you’re talking to someone, a teacher, guidance counsellor, Brett, whoever, just as long as you talk to someone.”

“When we’re on shift we’ll both have our phones on if you need us, we’ll leave you by yourself so no parties, please. If you want to have a friend over that’s fine, but let us know beforehand and we’d like to meet them first.”

“The system actually covers therapy bills so you could even talk to a therapist if you want. And as far as the money from the government goes, we’ll budget it so that some pitches into groceries, and there’s some spending money for your room or stuff you want, but the rest will go into a post-secondary school fund for you, which we’ll also be personally putting some money into.”

“... Really?”

“Yes, really. We are here to make sure that you have support, and that includes making sure you have some money for when you’re out of high school.”

“Thank you...”

“You really don’t need to say ‘thank you’ sweetheart, we’re here to help and love you as much as we can.” The doorbell ended their conversation that left tears brimming the eyes of all three, “I guess it’s time for pizza.”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There had been some disagreements and adjustments, but overall everyone could agree it had been a complete success. A month later, after the move-in and hours spent convincing Kylie that having money spent on her was okay, Sylvie, Stella and Kylie met up at the nice shopping area of downtown with money to spend. The plan was to spend the morning shopping then meet up with Kelly and the rest of 51 at the park for a picnic with the lovely souls from 51, 21, and MED.

“Where to first, Kylie?”

“Umm, a bedding store maybe?”

“Kylie, we talked about this, it’s okay that we want to spend money on you, okay?”

“Kylie, I went through this too. I still get freaked out when people spend money on me, especially if I didn’t have time to discourage them from doing so. I’m still pretty stingy if I’m honest. I know that it’s hard, you feel panicked and like you’re not worth this, you’re not worth this waste of money. What I find helps is taking lots of deep breaths, going straight to the sale and clearance racks, and remembering that all the stores we’re going to are family businesses, and that by spending money here we are supporting small businesses and people who work really hard to earn money and own a store of their own.”

Kylie thought for a moment, taking in Sylvie’s advice. “Okay, I’ll try that.”

“Okay.”

“So, where to?”

“I could use a couple of shirts...” Stella and Sylvie smiled brightly, grabbed onto an arm, and marched over to the nearest boutique.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After dropping everything off at the apartment the three women made it to the park thirty minutes after the designated time. “‘Bout time you three showed up!” 

“Cool it, Halstead, besides, shouldn’t you be spending your girlfriend?”

“Hailey is not my girlfriend!” 

“Y’know, it’s kinda funny, Stella didn’t even mention a Hailey...”

“Hey! I have more than enough people on my back about this, I don’t need a kid I haven’t met- oh waiiiiit, you’re Kidd and Severide’s foster right? Well, I’m Jay Halstead, Severide hasn't shut up about you, everyone’s really excited to meet you.”

“Including Hailey.” Jay froze for a second, before an exasperated expression took over his face, then he leaned his head back and groaned loudly before stomping away, leaving nothing but laughter in his wake.

“You know what Stella? I think Kylie should meet Hailey first.”

“Ooooh, yes.”

“Hailey! We have someone we want you to meet!”

They all ran across the field to her after hearing the panicked ‘NOooOOOooo’ from Jay Halstead. The confused blonde greeted them with a chuckle. “Hi, I’m Hailey Upton, you must be Kylie. It’s really great to meet you.”

“You too, I’ve heard a lot about how badass you are.”

“Oh, don’t listen to all that you hear-”

“Ig- *gasp* ignore her. She’s awesome.” A stressed-looking Jay sputtered out as he took his place beside Hailey. “Well,” Kylie slyly started, “I’m not sure that you’re unbiased, but I guess I’ll take your word for it.” Jay panicked, Hailey was confused, Stella and Sylvie were doing everything in their power not to laugh.

“Wha-”

“Maybe she should meet Casey next, hmmm?” He gave a well-placed look to Sylvie and she started to pout.”

“That was cold.”

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It had been a long day, filled with grilled food, cake games, and new family members. Kylie was happy though. It had been a lot, but she felt like she connected with and could count on everyone there. She was full of food and happiness. “That was really fun. It was great to meet everyone.”

“Really you didn’t feel like it was too much?”

“We were worried that we’d overwhelm you.”

“No, I think it was good to do it this way, like ripping off a bandaid.”

“Good. Well, we have shift tomorrow, starting at six in the morning. So we should probably head to bed.”

“I’m gonna do the same, I am beat the Hermann Horde really knows how to wear it out of you.”

“The Hermann Horde, oh my god... That describes them perfectly.”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shift had gone rather smoothly so far, a couple fire drills at local schools, a few fall-down and PD calls for ambo 61, and a smoke-detector check in an apartment building. All was well and good until around two o’clock when Stella got a horrifying phone call from Kylie.

“Stella?”

“Kylie? What’s wrong your voice sounds really shaky.” Kelly’s head snapped up at her words and she gestured for him to come over, he’d arrived and Stella turned the phone so they could both hear and talk just as they heard screams. “Kylie? Kylie!”

“There’s a fire, it’s getting big and we’re trapped and I don’t know what to do.”

“Okay, where is the fire? What lit it? Has anyone called 911 yet?” Kelly prattled off doing his best to be helpful instead of curling into a ball and crying. “Chem room, sulfuric acid and a chlorate, and everyone else is calling 911.”

“Okay, are you near a carbon dioxide extinguisher?”

“Uh, cupboard next to me... Yeah!”

“Pull out the pin, lift the nozzle and aim at the BASE of the fire by squeezing the levers together.”

They didn’t get a response but could hear what was happening, it took a few minutes before Kylie picked up the phone again, “it’s ou-t but smouldering or- smoking a bit? What-ever, it was down enough for all of us to- get out, so- we’re running.”

“Oh thank god. We’ll come right away- or do you want us to meet you at the hospital? You need to get medical attention if you were near reactive sulfuric acid.”

“Uh, how about I just keep you on the phone as I get checked out, we can figure it out from there?” 

“Okay, we- we’ll wait.” Stella and Kelly just about collapsed in relief, all the members of 51 who had gathered around them smiled and offered them as much comfort as possible. “Hey, um- my foster parents? They’re on the line, they’re firefighters, uh, just want to know what hospital we’re going to, if I’m okay.”

“Well, tell...”

“Stella Kidd and Lieutenant Kelly Severide.”

“Kidd and Lieutenant Severide to meet us at Chicago MED.”

“We’re leaving now.” They both froze and stared at Boden like deers in headlights. “Alright,” in Boden’s usual gruff voice, “mount up everybody. We’re going to MED. We’ll keep our radios on and leave from there if necessary. Kidd, Severide, I’ll need to call in a floater to cover one of you for the rest of shift. It’ll be easier if it’s Kidd, cause at least one of you has to stay with Kylie. I’ll see what I can do about a floater for you though, Severide.”

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Amelia met them at the hospital, there were some incident forms, but because Kylie called them for help and saved herself and her classmates because of it, Amelia just gave them a smile and told them they were doing great. Kylie needed to stay at MED for a couple of days because of the smoke she inhaled, but so did her classmates and they kept each other entertained. Then OFI showed up. Seager was quite obviously still carrying a torch for Kelly, but was still very polite to Stella and Kylie. “Well, your story matches up with the evidence we have and the statements collected from your teacher and 29 classmates.”

“Wait, she has 30 classmates, there’s 31 kids in her class.”

“Yes, well, Chad is the only one whose story is off, but that’s because all the evidence points to him messing around and starting the fire. None of you can say anything to any of the other victims and their families.”

“Got it.”

Seager left with a longing look directed at Kelly, but no one was looking at her. Kylie had started to tear up, the reality that she could have died finally hitting her at full force, and both her parents (what she’d started calling Stella and Kelly in her head) immediately tended to her. Hugging her, letting her know they were there, and that it was okay to cry. So Kylie lay there, shaking and sobbing, as the two people who loved her just as much as her grandmother had, did everything they could to let her know they loved her, and that they had been scared too. That they would be sad if she had died. At some point the tears stopped being about fear and started being about love.

This was the scene that Casey walked in on, he quietly stepped away, knowing just how intimate this moment was supposed to be. He walked back to the waiting room. “Not yet guys, they need some time to themselves. I think it might be better if we came back later with some food or something.” A call came over their walkies before anyone got a chance to agree with their captain.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kylie had transferred schools after the fire, the smoke from the chemical reaction that started the fire had gotten into a vent and messed up the entire air-con system, meaning the school had to be shut down for the rest of the year while it was replaced. The air quality was deemed too dangerous for students and staff to even retrieve their stuff from the school. So Kylie had been transferred to the same high school as Lee Henry Hermann. He’d shown her around the school and introduced her to his friends. Things had been going really well until 51 got a call to a mattress factory fire. Kylie hadn’t been around when Otis died, but she could still see how everyone was affected by his death. The fire was so bad that the news had been reporting on it since before school even started and new, terrifying developments were still coming. Kylie was scared, her stomach was so twisted she felt what she could only describe as extreme nausea, she couldn’t focus, and she was practically jumping out of her skin every time she got a notification on her phone. She couldn’t find Lee anywhere either, she had no way of knowing how he’d be handling it. While he was around to know Otis, his dad had been a firefighter longer than he’d been alive. Maybe he had coping methods.

After another panic grab for her phone Kylie was excused from class with a sympathetic glance from her teacher. She wandered the halls for a few minutes, doing everything not to cry, not to feel hopeless, when one of Lee's friends spotted her. “Henry heads to the greenhouse on bad days.” Was all Donovan said before walking away. Kylie took a breath, hiked her bag higher onto her shoulder, and headed to the greenhouse. What more did she have to fear?

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The door was unlocked, so she walked in and... Immediately took off her cardigan. “Lee?”

“Kylie...” His voice wasn’t confident like it usually was, it was hoarse and weak. She maneuvered her way around all the planter boxes before finding Lee sitting on a small, poorly made if she was being honest, wooden bench that was surrounded by peonies of varying colours. It was strange seeing Lee the way he was. Sickly pale, eyes red, exhausted lax muscles. “You’re scared too.”

“Terrified... I don’t know how you’ve dealt with this your whole life...” Kylie couldn’t control her emotions anymore. Lee tugged her by the wrist to sit beside him and wrapped her in his arms. “I don’t know how I’ve dealt with it either. I don’t think I do, really.”

“Does chocolate help? Cause I’ve got some in my bag...”

“Oh, yes. Chocolate helps.” The rest of their last two periods were spent crying, hugging, and eating chocolate in the greenhouse. They didn’t find out until they were leaving that the last of the fire had been put out, and that no first responders had died, and while three had been injured none of them were from firehouse 51.

“This may seem childish, and I know you don’t do this, but I think I’m gonna head to 51... I need to see that they’re okay for myself...”

“The only reason my siblings and I don’t do that is because our mom manages to keep them in the dark still. She used the child safety functions to keep the news from giving us alerts, she only tells us something happened after the ash has settled, or she just tells us that dad had a bad shift a half-hour before he gets home. She runs so much interference, but, I... I disabled the child safety stuff when I was twelve, so that I could watch some PG-14 movies, I didn’t find out about the news notifications until a month later. I mean, I saw that news apps were specifically selected when I disabled the setting, but I didn’t think anything of it until they got a call to a train wreck. I had never been more afraid for my dad in my life. I hadn’t fully comprehended just how dangerous my dad’s job was until that day. Every five minutes there was a... higher body count, reports of trouble at the scene, a video of a gas explosion that 51 was barely able to control... I strongly believe that it was the worst day of my life. I wanted to go to the firehouse, I told my mom that I found out from friends, I didn’t want her to turn the news off again... But she told me I couldn’t go see him. I had to wait. It was a long four hour hours. So, I get it. If you want, there’s some time before I have to pick up my brothers and sister. How about we go pick up some doughnuts, then my siblings, and then make a visit to 51.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want you to feel like you have to do this for me.”

“Yeah, this way I get to see my dad after fearing for his life all day and I can use you being worried as an excuse when my mom asks.” Kylie laughed as Lee smirked, proud of his plan.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Hey Brett.”

“Hey, I brought you doughnuts, courtesy of the Hermann Horde and Kylie.”

“How annoyed is Hermann that the nickname caught on?”

“Very.”

“So, how do the kids look? I imagine at least Lee Henry and Kylie saw the news today.”

“Kylie looked like she was going to burst into tears when she saw Stella and Severide. Lee looked like a weight came off his shoulders when he saw Hermann. But then, he uh...”

“Hm?”

“Lee Henry looked at Kylie and smiled, really softly, and he got this puppy dog look in his eyes.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I know what I saw.”

“You think there’s something going on?”

“Not yet... But I’m keeping my eye out.”


	4. 4

Sylvie was one of the nicest, sweetest, gentlest people Emily and Stella had ever met, so it was a little shocking when she returned to the ambo after treating a patient looking like she was about to go on a homicidal rampage. “Uh, you okay Brett?”

“Oh, I am fine. I am very, very fine, but when we get back to the house, our dear captain, won’t be.” 

The other two women just looked at each other, shrugged, and walked away. 

They’d never seen her like this and made the smart decision to stay as far away from her crosshairs as possible. Even Boden was staying out of her way. Everyone was avoiding her gaze and literally jumping out of her way. Even Tuesday seemed to sense that something was wrong, sticking close to Ritter. While everyone saw this coming, the only ones who knew what set it off were those on truck 81 and ambulance 61. Boden took one look at the trail of fumes his PIC had left behind on her way to go yell at her captain and turned to look at the shocked companies in the doorway. “Exactly what happened on that call?”

FLASHBACK

It was a minor traffic accident, but the SUV that crashed into the van pushed it against the brick wall of a hardware store and crumpled the other two doors shut. The SUV driver had called 911 several minutes ago when his breaks stopped working. He was trying to slow down but couldn’t, the only thing that was able to stop him was unfortunately the van. He ran to meet them before they’d even stopped their rigs. “I tried to stop! I tried to slow down! But even with my foot slammed on the breaks it never went below 50! I’m so sorry, please help them!” Matt’s eyes flicked over to Sylvie who had her attention on the driver and the long lacerations on his arms before he began his job, giving orders and making sure that they got everyone out of the car safe and sound. And they did. A mother and two kids, all with some minor whiplash and only the mother had any scrapes but even those were superficial. Still, they were all sent to MED just to be on the safe side. It wasn’t until he was able to focus solely on Sylvie again that the SUV driver got ‘violent’. Sylvie had noticed glass in his many cuts so she and Foster had gotten to work removing as much of it as possible. Sylvie was carefully removing a medium-sized piece with tweezers when he jerked that arm, almost hitting Sylvie in the face, yelling out in pain. “Okay, this piece is definitely hooked on something-”

“HEY!” Sylvie, Foster, Truck 81, and the tearful SUV driver snapped their shocked gazes towards him. “You do NOT get to assault my paramedic... s! Do I need to restrain you?”

“Matt! He was in serious pain, didn’t even hit me, and his arm flail was so not intentional! Calm. Down.” Casey was still heaving like a raging bull so Sylvie put her equipment on his legs and ignored Matt and his tenth overprotective display from that week alone. “Foster help me load him up and then get behind the wheel, we’re taking him to MED.”

“Syl-” One murderous glare from Sylvie left Matt deflating, hanging his head ever so slightly. The SUV driver started to whimper as he was loaded into the ambulance. “Don’t worry, we’re heading to the hospital, they’ll take out all of the glass we couldn’t get and make sure that there’s nothing else wrong, okay? Just take a deep breath.”

FLASHBACK END

“Okay, so Casey had another overprotective fit, how many times is that this week?”

“Ten, and it’s only the beginning of our second shift, Capp.”

“I am so glad that I’m not in your place because that would just be annoying.”

“... Thank you for your sincere sympathies, Capp. So, so much.”

“You’re welcome!”

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“What the hell is your problem, Mattew Casey?!” He sighed, relieved that she was here, safe, with him. Even if it was so she could yell at him. “It was no-”

“If you say ‘nothing’ I am going to lose. It. Because it is most definitely not ‘nothing’. You have been demeaning me and Foster, but especially me, for weeks. Do you think I’m incapable of doing my job? Do you not trust me or something?”

“What? You’re amazing at your job Sylvie, and you should know by now that I trust you with my life.”

“Then why have you been acting like I’m a porcelain doll? It’s incredibly insulting and so, so humiliating. First, you wouldn’t let me anywhere near any of our fire scenes, even if it’s to get a patient or to check on one of you! You insist that anyone needing care must be taken to me without me moving closer which could cost us valuable time one day. Second, you need reports every thirty seconds that we’re not at the firehouse or the same scene as you. Then, you bite anyone’s head off if they’re doing something even mildly annoying or inconvenient. Like when you made Gallo make pad Thai last week instead of the fettuccine alfredo he’d not only been planning but had already started making. Or like at the Cutler fire, you freaked out and forcefully moved our gurney behind the rig and would lose it every time we tried to move closer to get to patients faster. Or like today, that poor man had glass hooked around a section of vein, it was so painful for him when I tried to remove it, he didn’t mean to jerk his arm like that, he didn’t mean to almost hit me, you did not need to yell at him like that. You scared him in an already terrifying situation. He spent the entire ride over apologizing to me. You have never treated me like this before, Matt, what is going on?”

“I almost got you killed.” His voice cracked, and despite how quiet he said it, Sylvie heard him. “What? No you-”

“At the Arnow fire. I shouldn’t have called you in. It wasn’t safe. It wasn’t safe. How can you even look at me after that? It’s my job to keep you safe. I have to keep you safe, Sylvie. The world needs you, the house needs you, I need you.”

“Oh, Matt.” It was such a strange and sorrowful sight, to see Matt come completely undone and collapse into her arms. “Have you been holding onto this since the fire?”

“Since I saw you in your hospital bed after Joe told you about Otis. It was- is my job to keep you safe. You have to be safe, Sylvie. I don’t want to think about my life would be like without you. You have no idea how much you matter to me.”

“Matt... You mean a lot to me too. But you can’t keep all this bottled up. I- I’ve been seeing a department therapist since the fire. It’s been so helpful and relieving. I’d like it if you would come with me. We can get something to eat after, just decompress, the two of us.”

“Okay. I can see your point about- about how I’ve been acting. I’ll make an appointment, go the same day as you. But, I’d go to that diner you like, as strange as it might seem, it’s really uplifting for me to watch you get excited about their chocolate pancakes.”

Trying to contain her blush and reminding herself she was supposed to be upset with him despite his wet cheeks and red-rimmed eyes, she gave a soft smile. “That sounds great.”


	5. Casey's Honour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Severide tries to have a little... Talk with Brett after the events of 9x02 but doesn't have a leg to stand on, so Hermann steps up.

Matt was smiling, truly smiling, and Kelly couldn’t have been happier. It had been a while since Matt was like this. When he first started dating Gabby, when he and Hallie first got engaged, and when he and Hallie had started dating. The problem was, although the relationships always started out great, things tended to start falling apart halfway through and lead to a messy, painful end. For Matt. In Hallie’s case she was tragically murdered after years off and on and off relationship, and Gabby left and divorced him when he wouldn’t do what she wanted. In both relationships there was crappy communication and only Matt was ever willing to compromise, it seemed. Kelly would not consider himself an expert in significant, long-term relationships, he would willfully admit that. But being in a relationship with Stella had taught him a lot, and he’d been around the Hermann’s for most of his adult life. And Kelly knew that the same thing could happen again, given the whole “What would you do if Gabby came back - I think you should leave” incident. And while Sylvie Brett was probably an actual angel, she did have two failed engagements and another dawson notched in her belt. So when the common room was sparse and Sylvie was leaning against the kitchen counter beside the coffee machine with a cup of said liquid staring off into space, he approached. Grabbed a cup himself. Leaned against the counter. “Sooooo... About you and Matt-”

“Severide, I love you, but after all the relationship shit I’ve seen you do over the years, you’re the last person who can give me any kind of ‘talking to’.”

“Hey, that’s- actually, yeah, fair enough.”

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sylvie was a little surprised to see Hermann on the otherside of her peephole. “Hey, Hermann, what brings you by?”

“Serious stuff, I’m afraid. Sit down, we need to talk.” She opened the door a little wider, letting him through. “Would you like some coffee and cookies? I just finished a batch of ginger cookies.”

“Sure thing, but don’t think you’re gonna be softening me up with sweets.”

“I don’t even know why you’re here, Hermann, so it’d be pretty hard to do that.”

“Let’s just get settled, and start talking.”

“Wow, you really mean business, don’t you? What’s this all about?”

“You and Casey.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.” Brett really didn’t want to stall, she just wanted to bite the bullet and get this conversation overwith, even though she was already having to force back tears. Hermann and Dawson had been really close, and he probably didn’t approve of her best friend starting a relationship with her ex-husband. It took all the courage she could muster to place the tray of coffee and cookies on the coffee table and sit beside him while she felt like she was going to fall apart. Hermann smiled at her softly. “Don’t worry, kid, this is just a talk.”

“Yeah, so, uh, let’s get started, then.”

“Well, you know that Gabby is like a daughter to me. I’ll always love her, and I was there when their relationship began, through every trial and tribulation, I watched them rise together. But I also watched them fall. I watched as Casey made sacrifice after sacrifice, and compromise after compromise, all for Gabby. And I watched as she pushed him away. How she demanded more and more, and how she abandoned him. I also knew, once Gabby got on that plane to Puerto Rico, that she wasn’t coming back. They both had their shortcomings, everyone does, but I watched as Gabby put Casey through the wringer. As much as I love her, even I have to admit that she was incredibly selfish throughout almost the entirety of their relationship. So many of the things Casey has acknowledged he regrets he did with his life are things that he did because of her. Because she pressured him and manipulated situations, and sometimes all it took was a bat of her eyelashes. And Hallie was no better. She was confident of her own goals in life, which is wonderful, but they were completely different than Casey’s and they both refused to accept that. But Hallie, she left him, but she came back too, knowing that nothing had changed. That they still had the same wants for their futures that just didn’t align. What I’m trying to get at here, is that Casey deserves someone good. Someone who will be a partner, one half of a relationship, someone who won’t push him into things he doesn’t want or lead him on. I think that you two are great together, and I think that the two of you could spend the rest of your lives together happily. But you need to talk to each other. You can’t ignore things and pretend that they go away. You’ve been through some painful things too, Brett, but you’re gonna have more people in your corner. So I’m always gonna have his back, okay? You can’t hurt him. He’s been through too much and doesn’t deserve to have any more pain caused by a selfish woman.”

“I’ll be honest, that’s not what I was expecting to hear tonight, and not from you. But I think I needed to hear it.”

“I know you did, but I think I need to make myself clear; either clear things up with him and get together or cut him loose. You’re a sweetheart Brett, but I’m done being silent in Matt Casey’s torment. Figure out exactly what you want with Matt and handle it accordingly.”

“O-okay.” Brett had never, ever been on the receiving end of his anger or disapproval and truthfully it was jarring. He made it to the door when Sylvie remembered. “Wait! Ginger cookies are Cindy’s favourite, right? Do you want to take a container home?” Hermann stopped for a moment, then turned to face her, narrowing his eyes. “This doesn’t let you off the hook for anything...”

“Of course not, I just know she likes them...”

“Sure, then, that would be great.”

“I’ll just grab a container.”

“You won’t be betraying Gabby, just so you know. She did some pretty horrible things to him and then she was the one who chose to leave and start divorce proceedings. So if Gabby’s the reason behind all the drama, you need to re-evaluate your priorities.”

“Here- the cookies. Uh, yeah. You’ve definitely given me a lot to think about. And you’re right, Matt doesn’t deserve to be hurt anymore. So, I’ll figure out what I want before shift and talk to him.”

“Good. Have a nice night.”

“You too...” After she locked the door behind him she grabbed herself a glass of the rose Mouch had given her for her birthday- there was no way she was sleeping tonight. She hadn’t expected a dressing down from Hermann, but she supposed someone needed to defend Casey’s honour.

**Author's Note:**

> Just to be clear; mixing drugs and alcohol is dangerous and can be fatal, and I do not condone and/or encourage it.


End file.
